The College Football Playoff has provided fans with some entertaining games and some surprising score lines as well. Particularly on the lower half of the bracket, not many saw this year's semifinalists reaching as far as they have.
The Ole Miss Rebels handled business in the first round against Tulane but found a way to exact revenge on the Georgia Bulldogs who beat them earlier in the regular season. That effort - without former head coach Lane Kiffin - has them one win away from appearing in the program's first-ever national championship game.
But the Miami Hurricanes, who many believed didn't belong in the 12-team bracket to begin with, proved their postseason pedigree with defensively suffocating victories over Texas A&M and defending champion Ohio State. They now stand in the Rebels' way and the battle of underdogs could be the best game of the semifinal weekend.
CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl: At a glance
Matchup: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Miami
When: Jan. 8, 2026, at 7:30pm ET
Where: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Records: Ole Miss (13-1), Miami (12-2)
Both teams are relatively evenly matched but there are certain aspects each program possesses that when pitted against one another will reveal which has the true advantage. These matchups will determine whether Miami will vie for its first national title since 2001 or Ole Miss will do so for the first time since the 1960s.
Kewan Lacy vs. Miami's defense
Ole Miss' star running back has racked up nearly 1,500 yards this season on 295 carries (third-most in the nation). His 23 touchdowns have been crucial to the team's success, especially the pair he scored against Georgia in the quarterfinal. But Lacy may be running into a buzzsaw when he meets the Miami defense in the desert.
The Hurricanes are allowing just 13.07 points on average this year and that defensive prowess was made most apparent in their last two games. Miami gave up a combined 17 points to Texas A&M and Ohio State, allowing just 45 yards on the ground to the Buckeyes. If Lacy is stuffed in a box, Ole Miss has little chance to avoid the same fate as the defending champions.
Carson Beck vs. SEC narratives
A lot of fans thought after Miami's victory over Ohio State that quarterback Carson Beck would be on a collision course with his old team in the semifinal. Ole Miss ruined that narrative but still presents a question Beck will have to answer on the biggest stage: Can he still best SEC competition?
Beck departed Georgia in the transfer portal for Miami this past offseason and many accused him of jumping down a rung of competition to try and earn more NIL money and chase an easier path to a championship. Well, he got his money (over $3 million) but he failed to conquer the ACC like he did in the SEC with the Bulldogs. Ironically, he's proving the haters wrong by getting three wins deep in the CFP. He'll face an SEC team in the semifinal and look to silence those haters one more time.
Mario Cristobal vs. Past demons
It's no secret Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was on thin ice entering this season. After lofty expectations were placed on his shoulders after he left Oregon, he failed to deliver a finish better than third in the ACC and came painfully close to the CFP last year.
Now, the Hurricanes are on the doorstep of reviving the tradition of winning championships "The U" came used to fulfilling in the '90s and early aughts. Can Cristobal vanquish the demons he's done so well at exorcizing so far this postseason or will they rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune moment? Whatever he's got his team bought into in the locker room, he better keep preaching it because it's worked out for him so far.